Alan Johnson has said he'll need to buy a book on economics now he's been made Shadow Chancellor. He's not alone, as it seems most of political class know nothing about the subject, even though many must have read PPE at Porterhouse.
What one book would you recommend politicians should read before we let them play with the toy train set of our economy?
I think a new Ladybird book would be a wonderful help - they used to be so clear and concise. So much better than turgid, shut-you-out academic and wrong.
4 comments:
Higham, J, Westminster Steps Down, Sackers&Son, 2011 [yet to make it into print].
How about one in remedial arithmetic, and another in world history? Not to mention those 'How stuff works' books.
Robin Marris's Economic Arithmetic would suit an unfledged shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. It's old, it's flawed but it does provide a start on learning to handle the data he really must master. And it's well-written, which always helps.
Chapter titles, James? Perhaps "what is oney?", "where does inflation come from?", "who benefits from free trade with Communists?"... any others?
Padders - don't forget something on ethics.
HG: wish I had the time to read it. But even then I might find I was becoming an expert on detail and miss the big picture, like most of the world's economists?
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